I-KANDY TATTOO & PIERCING

Over the past year, the I-Kandy blog has reported on newsworthy topics, ongoing stories, and documentaries, books, and sites of interest. As the year draws to a close, so too do some of these tales –while others are just starting to get good. Here is our almost-year-end collection of follow-ups and things to follow.

In early August, we reported that Arkansas had passed a bill outlawing certain body-mods. At that time, Senate had supported it in a 26-4 vote, but it still had to make it to the governor’s desk. Most expected it would quietly die there, but that is sadly not the case. While a final ruling has yet to be made, the bill has been amended to make the wording less vague – never a good sign that it will be binned.

Elaine Davidson, long-time record holder for most piercings, won’t be giving up her title any time soon. When we last wrote about her, she had approximately seven thousand piercings – she now claims to have just short of nine thousand. Even we are beginning to wonder where she is fitting them in now. As for her male counterparts, a bit of a battle may be quietly taking place. John Lynch, the world’s most pierced senior citizen, and Rolf Buchholz, the most pierced man, used to be separated by nearly 200 piercings; at last count, however, the margin had narrowed considerably. We’ll be impatiently awaiting the release of the 2014 Guinness Book to see who wins this round.

Our post on medical and cosmetic tattooing focused mainly on covering scars and applying permanent make-up, but a new practice has gained popularity (and brought a few tears to our eyes). Many women that have had to undergo mastectomies (removal of the breasts due to cancer, or the high risk of) are now opting to tattoo their chests rather than getting implants, or are using tattoos to make their reconstruction look more natural. A tattoo shop in Halifax took note of this and decided to lend a hand – Newcombes Ink offers free nipple tattooing to cancer survivors. A book featuring tattooed survivors is expected next year.

We’ve mentioned Otzi the Iceman several times, as, at 5300 years old, he sports the oldest still-visible tattoos known to us. A recently discovered Siberian princess, however, has piqued our interest. About 2500 years old, “Ukok” was found with incredibly well preserved tattoos that, shockingly, aren’t much different from some of our own. While Otzi’s tattoos mainly consist of lines and dots, Ukok opted for a mythical creature on her shoulder. With the head of a deer, the beak of a griffin, and Capricorn antlers, Ukok’s shoulder tattoo shows us that, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This year has offered up several documentaries that go well beyond the reality t.v. show fad. Flesh & Blood, featuring Steve Haworth (who we mentioned in our post on microdermals) is perhaps our favourite – Steve talks about suspension, innovation, and his thoughts on flesh-as-canvas, giving us a glimpse into the mind of one of the most famous body mod artists of all time. Other must-sees include Body of God, starring Fakir Musafar, and Modify, which explores all types of body mods, and features damn near every famous modder you can think of. Do you have a favourite to add to our list? Leave a comment on our Facebook page with a title or link!